30 May 2013

LET'S GET CRAFTY // DIY GO FISH GAME

So yesterday it rained. Again.

And as it's probably going to rain forever, we decided to get crafty and go fishing. F loves collecting sticks when we're exploring and as we hang out at the park/woods/sandpit almost everyday we have a LOT of sticks lying around. If you want to play 'Go fish' (as F has named it) then follow the below step by step instructions and have fun!

TO MAKE YOUR FISH

Once you've got everything you need it's time to let your little one loose with paint and (hold your breath) glitter...

1. Have your child paint a few sheets of paper and leave to dry.

2. Use the glue spreader to dab glue over the sheets.

3. Let your wild ones loose and cover the sheets with glitter.

4. Tip off excess glitter and set aside sheets to dry.

We went crazy with glitter (much to my horror) and whilst it ended up on the paper/clothes/hair/carpet it definitely gives the right effect for fish scales.

If you have an impatient kid like mine, then you might want to take a break whilst everything dries. We crunched our way through some cucumber and hummus before getting back to our fish. This is the fun bit.

5. Draw some fish shapes on your beautifully decorated paper in various sizes.

6. Cut your fish shapes out carefully. Probably best not to let your kid loose with this bit.

7. Now attach a paper clip to the end of each fish.

You've made your fish! We were pretty pleased with ours.

TO MAKE YOUR FISHING ROD

This next step involves using a scalpel so is definitely an adult only task.

8. Take the stick and carefully make a slit in the end and make sure it goes through to both sides.

9. Push the string through the slit and wind it round the end before tying to make it secure.

10. Attach the magnet to the other end of the string.

You've made your fishing rod. Place your fish into your imaginary sea or pond and get your kid to GO FISH.

We've been using this game to help F with his counting as he seems to have an aversion to the number 5. Fingers crossed this does the trick.